Review: Silk Naturals Sleep in a Jar

25 May 2011

Samples after a few weeks of use

Silk Naturals is one of the larger indie brands out there. They've been around since 2006 and have an impressive array of products - makeup, skincare, and even haircare. They offer competitive prices, a weekly limited edition gift with purchase for all purchases over $10, and a free eye shadow or lip balm of your choice for every $30 spent. They also have great customer service, are open to answering questions, either by email or on their forums, and ship very quickly. I've been really impressed with everything I've tried from Silk Naturals. You can expect reviews of their lip products and eye shadows to follow in the next few days.

Initially I ordered a sample of Sleep in a Jar under eye concealer thinking I'd use it to set Silk Naturals' creamy concealer, which I also ordered a couple samples of. As it turns out, the creamy concealer was not a big hit with me, but Sleep in a Jar more than made up for it! I constantly have some degree of under eye circles, and combined with stress or not getting enough sleep, they can get pretty dark and unsightly. Hayley of The Flaxen Owl recently posted about having trouble finding a natural concealer with enough coverage to conceal her dark circles, and I've always struggled with the same thing, even when I used mainstream cosmetics. Sleep in a Jar doesn't give full coverage, but something about the way it diffuses light really brightens up the under eye area and makes dark circles appear greatly reduced. Up close I can still see some very slight darkness, but as long as most people aren't right up in your face, they won't be able to see any darkness that may remain.

Sleep in a Jar is a powder concealer, which I never would have thought could work so well on dark circles, but it really does. An added benefit is that it doesn't settle into fine lines the way liquid or cream concealers are prone to. It's also pretty buildable - I apply thin layers with a fluffy blending brush until I get enough coverage. If it starts to look at all cakey, I pat it out with my finger and it's good to go. It also works surprisingly well at covering up the occasional blemish.

Color-wise, I've been wearing the light peach, which is perfect for me. I'm quite pale, but the extra light peach was too light for me - it looked almost pure white when applied. Unfortunately it only comes in three shades, the darkest being medium, so it really doesn't accommodate darker skin tones, but if you have fair to medium skin and are looking for a new under eye concealer, I'd recommend giving this one a try. It's affordable, at $0.99 for a 1/8 teaspoon sample or $6.99 for a full size (in a 10 gram jar). I'll definitely be ordering the full size, but I haven't even finished my sample yet after more than a month of wearing it. Sleep in a Jar is a great product and you really don't need much to see results!